11 April 2012

Two Men Enter, One Man Leaves

I've been absent from all aspects of the interwebs lately. Twitter, Facebook, blogging. A death in the family will do that. I wanted to do a pre-series write-up much earlier and then stuff just kind of happened. I really wanted to do it during the last two games when people were freaking out about playoff position. Now I get to do it after the dust has settled and the match-ups are set in stone.
I did not give a shit about seeding this year. Locking up a spot in the playoffs is all that really matters for me. That last game against the Hawks saw some interesting shit on Twitter regarding seeding. People wanting them to win, people wanting them to lose. And then there were people like me who wanted them to win outright, not to wrap up home ice, but to beat the fucking Hawks. If it was a matter of them losing the game and cancer would be cured, I'd still want them to beat the Blackhawks. Watch a game at the UC and you will understand.

I saw one tweet where someone wanted them to get the 6th seed because they thought the Wings couldn't beat the Predators. Huh? So, are you just hoping they win one playoff round? What happens if they have to face them later on? Going into the playoffs, I always believe the Red Wings can beat any other team on the table, West or East. This isn't some kind of leap of faith thing either. I've watched them get further than they should have some years and I've seen them come up short when they shouldn't have other years. But I always think they CAN win it all. Every year.

Would I have preferred that they got home-ice? Sure. Especially the way they played at home this season. But am I sad that they didn't get home-ice? Fuck no. Home-ice guarantees that you play at home for the 7th game. Whoop-de-fuckin'-do. You played a seven game series that will grind you to dust. What if your next opponent's series only went five games? Beating teams on the road makes for successful playoff hockey. That is what the Wings have to do this series, and that is what the Wings can do this series. All of the speculation and stat referencing. All of the "On paper this series favors blob-de-bloo". All of this educated guessing is a moot point. All of the intangibles don't mean jack squat unless they actually come into play.

The West half of the playoffs is a bare-knuckled grind from top to bottom. Were there teams I would rather the Wings play? Yeah. But any match-up was going to be a tough one. I am totally taking the Wings in this series. I think they will do it in 4 to 7 games. That is my rock solid prediction. You have Radulov. What? Is Wings Nation supposed to shit themselves? Do you have a Goose? That's my wild card in this series. Maybe not a ton of minutes, but they will be meaningful minutes. The Preds will be going, "What the Hell? Who the fuck is this guy now?" Helm coming back is going to be a huge boost. My big 'ole plate of crow I hope to eat, Ericsson. If he can play the same hockey he has played since coming back from injury then that would be lovely. Watching him play, I imagined him in the film room during his recovery with Chelios and Fischer standing behind him reeducating him Clockwork Orange style. Am I completely sold? No. Am I much more hopeful? Yes.

Well, this shit is about to drop like a ten ton hammer. My drink of choice for the playoffs is shooters of whiskey mixed with pepto. See you all on the Twitters tonight.

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